Northumberland Islands National Park

Northumberland Islands National Park
Masked booby ( Sula dactylatra )
Coordinates: 21 ° 18 ′ 57.7 ″  S , 149 ° 40 ′ 47.6 ″  E
Location:	Queensland , Australia
Specialty:	Archipelago, birds
Next city:	60 kilometer (s) from Mackay
Surface:	17.2 km²
Founding:	1994
Reef Triele ( Esacus magnirostris )

The Northumberland Islands National Park (English Northumberland Islands National Park ) is a 17.2 square kilometer national park in Queensland , Australia . It is part of the Great Barrier Reef , a UNESCO World Heritage Site .

James Cook discovered the Northumberland Islands on his first South Sea voyage in 1770 and named them after Hugh Percy , the 1st Duke of Northumberland.

location

The Northumberland Islands consist of several small archipelagos, which are spread over an area of ​​about 2,500 square kilometers in the Coral Sea , about 60 kilometers southwest of Mackay .

In contrast to the coral islands of the Great Barrier Reef , which are 60 kilometers further east, the Northumberland Islands are all of continental origin. The Beverley Group is located at the northern end of the national park about 40 kilometers from the coast.

There Prudhoe Island is the largest island with a length of four kilometers and a width of one kilometer. There is also the highest point in the national park at 320 meters. Further south is the Guardfish Cluster, with Curlew Island, the largest island in this group.

The South Cumberland Islands , Percy Isles , Yuwi Paree Toolkoon and Broad Sound Islands national parks are in the vicinity ; on mainland West Hill and Cape Palmerston .

fauna

19 species of birds have been counted on the islands, including the threatened little tern ( Sternula albifrons ) and the endangered reef triel ( Esacus magnirostris ). But they are also breeding ground for Noddi ( Anous stolidus ) Zügelseeschwalbe ( Onychoprion anaethetus ), roseate tern ( Sterna dougallii ), brown booby ( Sula leucogaster ), Masked Booby ( Sula dactylatra ), Reef egret ( Egretta sacra ) and the Reinwardt chicken ( Megapodius reinwardt ).

White-bellied sea eagles ( Haliaeetus leucogaster ) and osprey ( Pandion cristatus ) are among the birds of prey on the islands.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Australian Government - CAPAD 2010 ( MS Excel ; 170 kB), DSEWPaC , accessed on January 7, 2013 (English)
2. ↑ Australian Government - CAPAD 1997 ( MS Excel ; 93 kB), DSEWPaC , accessed on January 7, 2013 (English)
3. ↑ Place name details - NORTHUMBERLAND ISLANDS  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Department of Environment and Resource Management , accessed January 7, 2013  
4. ↑ ^{a b c} Whitsunday and Mackay Islands Visitor Management Strategy - Visitor Management Settings - Map 3 'Mackay' ( Memento of the original from July 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 1.8 MB), Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service , accessed January 7, 2013 
5. ↑ ^{a b} Official website of the park - Species List , Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service , accessed October 7, 2012 (English)